nownovels Chapter 321 - 318: Man-Eating Grass of the Steppe? Tales of the Great Rancher!
Chapter 321 - 318: Man-Eating Grass of the Steppe? Tales of the Great Rancher!
After staying on the pasture for a long time, coming out to the management area for a stroll feels quite nice.
Moreover, it’s only a ten-minute walk to his own sightseeing ranch, which is quite close.
Seeing the tourists dressed up, laughing and chatting, makes the place lively.
Jiang Feng’s principle is to completely isolate the pasture area from tourists, while the sightseeing area is for prairie tourism projects, welcoming tourists to have fun.
These things come step by step, gradually transforming his own sightseeing ranch into the largest ranch in the Ximeng League.
Jiang Feng drives back from the sightseeing area to his own yard.
His house is so big that traveling around requires a car.
If walking, it would take about two hours to return.
Jiang Feng hands the milk-covered green tea to Liu Yiyi, and also brings out the roast duck.
Liu Yiyi happily takes them.
Recently, her taste has changed quickly; she doesn’t like eating much in the morning and evening, feeling a bit greasy, but at noon she really wants meat.
"The sightseeing ranch needs a name, do you have any ideas?"
Jiang Feng asks Liu Yiyi.
"You decide on this kind of thing, any name is fine." Liu Yiyi doesn’t want to think about it, she replies with a smile.
Jiang Feng is the ranch owner, so he has to make the decision on such matters.
"Let’s call it Qingfeng Ranch, the name should be easy to remember and not hard to pronounce, so that others can remember it at once."
Jiang Feng thinks for a while, and directly decides.
"Hmm, it’s quite good." Liu Yiyi agrees.
Then, the two start eating the roast duck.
At present, they have two major issues, the first is the wedding affair, which is organized on a small scale, so there’s not much to say.
The second issue is the sightseeing ranch.
As for the pasture area, the situation is basically stable, and Jiang Feng doesn’t need to do anything more there.
That afternoon, Jiang Feng is livestreaming the scene of little lambs playing on the pasture.
On the green grass, five or six adorable little lambs are frolicking, and two of them run to Jiang Feng’s side, unafraid, warmly interacting with Jiang Feng.
The scene under the camera is relaxed and leisurely, giving a fresh feeling.
Just then, Jiang Feng sees Hadan rushing over.
Hadan says to Jiang Feng:
"Manager, I’m going back to the ranch to find Old Sun for some medicine."
"I just had a fall, my neck hit some nettles, and my hands too."
"It’s burning and stinging now."
Hadan says, showing the areas on his arm and neck.
His arm has a lot of little bumps, like those caused by mosquito bites, and there are a few on his neck as well.
"Alright, quickly go back, ride a horse." Jiang Feng immediately says.
The viewers are amazed by this scene.
[What is that? Is it mosquito bites? So many bumps!]
[He bumped into nettles, what are nettles?]
[Looks kind of scary!]
[I know this stuff. Last time on the prairie, I foolishly touched that kind of grass, and my hand burned for days, much worse than a mosquito bite!]
Everyone is discussing.
Jiang Feng sits on the grass, petting the little lambs, explaining to everyone:
"Hadan came into contact with nettles, nettles are a type of grass, nicknamed stinging grass."
"Calling it stinging is actually because it pricks people. Its leaves and stems have many transparent bristles that easily break."
"If you touch the leaves, the bristles break off in the skin, releasing ant acid which quickly stings your skin."
"This is very painful."
"These grasses grow not only on prairies but in many places."
"If you encounter them, don’t touch them."
Saying this, Jiang Feng stands up and surveys the surroundings.
After taking a look around, he walks towards a direction and squats next to a few nettle plants, saying:
"This is the kind of grass, while it’s growing, don’t touch it."
"But you can pick them, and you can blanch them for hotpot, and they taste especially good after blanching."
"Nettles have quite high economic value."
Upon hearing Jiang Feng’s explanation, the viewers suddenly understand.
[I see, useless knowledge +1]
[Manager, touch it so we can see!]
[Yeah, touch it, let us see if it’s like you said!]
[Science popularization should lead by example, don’t just talk without action!]
The viewers aren’t satisfied without something exciting and start coming up with ideas.
Jiang Feng calmly says:
"Hadan just demonstrated for everyone."
"Nettles are everywhere, those who want to try can try, I won’t stop you."
Jiang Feng looks back at the few little lambs.
Behind them in the distance, four ewes take a couple of bites of grass and then turn their gaze to the lambs, afraid they might wander off.
Until the lambs grow up, the ewes are quite responsible.
After checking on the lambs, Jiang Feng calls Red Hare over, planning to go somewhere else for a walk.
Here Yang Maolin and a few others are watching over them, with the sheepdogs following, they won’t get lost.
Jiang Feng mounts the horse, speaking to everyone:
"Do you know how some large ranch owners raise cattle and sheep?"
"I know someone who owns 160,000 acres of pasture, and his way of raising cattle and sheep is very simple; it’s completely free-range, also called aggressive grazing."
"The cattle and sheep are driven onto the pasture and allowed to eat freely without any handling."
"But this way, the mortality rate of cattle and sheep is high, and if they die, he doesn’t mind, just leaves the dead cows on the pasture, ignoring them."
"In any case, this is the situation on the pasture."
Jiang Feng continued to tell everyone stories about the grassland.
Hearing Jiang Feng speak like that, the netizens were a bit surprised.
Owning 160,000 mu of pastureland, what a grand spectacle that must be!
The grassland is huge; some pasture owners have an astonishingly large area, with many owning more than 100,000 mu.
However, most pasture owners with 100,000 mu are in extremely remote places, where there are no people, so owning such large pastures is quite normal.
Jiang Feng’s place, on the other hand, is just dozens of kilometers from the administrative center of the Ximeng League, a forty-minute drive to the city.
The location is advantageous, with a lot of people around.
Therefore, his 66,000 mu pasture is worth far more than a 100,000 mu pasture in a remote area.
The netizens found this surprising.
[Violently free-ranging, not caring at all?]
[There’s actually such a method of herding sheep!]
[How do you make money like this?]
[How lazy!]
Seeing the barrage of comments, Jiang Feng said:
"Actually, it’s normal. Everyone knows that on the grassland, the larger the pasture you own, the better the grass will be, and the more wealth there will be."
"With 160,000 mu of pasture, just harvesting the grass can bring in a lot of money."
"Raising cattle and sheep is just a side thing; you invest in buying some cattle and sheep, put them on the pasture, and sell the ones that survive in the fall."
"The profit is definitely positive, and it doesn’t matter even if some die."
"Every year, you can earn millions while lying down, and people don’t want to work so hard or worry."
"They just take care of their eating and drinking."
"So that’s how it is."
Jiang Feng rode leisurely on Red Hare.
The netizens figured out why someone would adopt the violent free-range method.
In short, once you’ve made enough money, you can completely take it easy.
Like a landlord, as long as you have land, the money will come in by itself.
Jiang Feng enjoys a leisurely life but doesn’t chase just pleasure.
He thinks people need to have something to do, some kind of career.
If you only eat, drink, and play every day, it can be quite uncomfortable.
Busy for a while, then idle for a while, or mostly relaxed with occasional bursts of activity—this is the normal state of life.
Jiang Feng rode to the top of a slope.
Looking down, there’s another scene in the distance.
That would be the cattle grazing area.
The areas for cattle and sheep grazing are separate.
Though cattle and sheep are different species, they give off a similar feeling, both characterized by the unique, vast beauty of the grassland.
Jiang Feng intended to check if the Tibetan fox was still around.
Just then, overhead, the honking of Da Ying resounded.
Jiang Feng looked up and saw flocks of Da Ying swirling in the sky.
He was instantly overjoyed.
"It’s the Da Ying, the migratory birds have returned this year!"
Jiang Feng said with a smile.
Inner Mongolia has many wetland ecosystems, especially in the deeper no-man’s land, where there is an abundance of bird species.
Particularly migratory birds.
Such as the red-crowned crane, black-necked crane, and Da Ying.
They return every summer.
The people of the grassland love these migratory birds, considering them treasures of the grassland.
The drone filmed upwards, and the netizens also saw the flocks of Da Ying.
Each group of Da Ying is some distance apart.
Jiang Feng looked up, as if expecting something.
After watching for a while, the sky remained unchanged, and the Da Ying flew away into the distance.
Jiang Feng sighed slightly.
During their migration, some Da Ying die on the journey.
Completing a round trip successfully is not easy.
Then, they breed on the grasslands, strengthening their numbers.
Only to undertake the next cycle again.
Jiang Feng wondered if the Da Ying he saved had returned.
As he felt a bit melancholy, suddenly, a cry rang out.
A Da Ying honked and descended towards Jiang Feng.
It circled in the air once, then landed on the grass not far from Jiang Feng, folding its wings.
The feathers on its behind stuck up, giving it a very cute appearance.
Seeing this, Jiang Feng immediately jumped off Red Hare, his expression filled with joy.
It was the Da Ying he had cared for, and it had returned again this year.
Moreover, it still recognized him.
After all, it had spent a winter with Jiang Feng, and was familiar with him by now.
Jiang Feng looked at this robust adult Da Ying.
The winter before last, this little one joined Xiaojin Hua’s gang, often hanging out with the fox and piglet on the ranch.
Now, the little ones have all grown up; Xiaojin Hua became a father, the fox has kids, and Pink Piggy Peppa doesn’t come out much, while this Da Ying has become a leader.
The world changes so quickly.
Jiang Feng stood in front of the Da Ying, watching it.
The Da Ying first confirmed Jiang Feng’s scent, then honked and ran towards him in small steps.
Viewers in the live broadcast were amazed at this sight.
This ranch is truly fascinating!